REGISTER OF HERITAGE PLACES - Assessment Documentation
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REGISTER OF HERITAGE PLACES
Assessment Documentation
11. ASSESSMENT OF CULTURAL HERITAGE SIGNIFICANCE
Cultural heritage significance means aesthetic, historic, scientific, social or spiritual
value for individuals or groups within Western Australia.
In determining cultural heritage significance, the Heritage Council has had regard
to the factors in the Heritage Act 2018 and the indicators adopted on 14 June 2019.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that the
following entry refers to the deaths in custody of Aboriginal people.
11(a) Importance in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Western
Australia’s history
Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island is associated with the very
earliest periods of exploration of Australia by Dutch, French and English explorers,
and later by the Dutch East India Company, who after accidentally coming across
it, used its presence on the coast of New Holland (Western Australia) as a
navigational aid.
As an Aboriginal prison with a brutal reputation, the Quod, and Wadjemup/ Rottnest
Island more widely, was used by the Colonial government as an actual and
symbolic means to defeat Aboriginal resistance to colonisation in the State. As the
site from 1838-1931 of exile, and often death, of Aboriginal men, many from the
North-West, it illustrates the Colonial and later State Governments’ policies on
incarceration of Aboriginal people and methods of dealing with the Aboriginal
resistance to the invasion of their country.
Wadjemup Aboriginal Burial Ground, unmarked for over a century, and believed to
have been the site of more Aboriginal deaths in custody than any other location in
the State or nation, reflecting the impact of the place, and the prison system more
generally, on the deterioration of Aboriginal wellbeing since British colonisation.
The buildings and elements dating from the period Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island
operated as a Aboriginal Prison demonstrate the planning and development of a
nineteenth century island penal establishment. The regimented and hierarchical
layout of the former Superintendent’s Residence (Cottages F & G), Second
Superintendent’s Quarters (Manager’s Residence) and cottages located along the
sea wall with the Quod, former Mill and Hay Store (Museum) and archaeological
Register of Heritage Places
Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island 4
14 June 2021remnants of the fenced gardens behind, demonstrates both the self-sufficiency of
the settlement as well as the harsh conditions faced by the inmates. Collectively,
the buildings from this period, including the Boys’ Reformatory, the Pilot Station
and Governor’s Residence, are a remarkably intact example of a British colonial
outpost established from the 1830s in the formative years of the Swan River
Colony.
Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island demonstrates the role of
Aboriginal labour in the development of Western Australia. Aboriginal prisoners
provided most of the manpower that sourced the raw materials for and built the
main buildings, structures and road infrastructure within Thomson Bay Settlement,
which is reflective of development elsewhere in Western Australia where Aboriginal
labour was utilised, yet not acknowledged.
The landscape of Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island comprises
a density and diversity of cultural features that illustrate human occupation and the
evolution of the place from early colonial settlement to the present. The range of
features includes the planning and layout of the area; roads and tracks laid down
in the nineteenth century that remain in use; garden walls which defined former
cottage subdivisions and Governor’s Residence (Hotel Rottnest) domain;
engineering structures such as the causeway, the cutting through View Hill ridge,
wells and water tunnels and underground tank, jetties; and archaeological sites.
The layers of settlement are also reflected by the discernible remnant native
vegetation which has survived from the early colonial settlement period; remnant
plantings of nineteenth century agricultural crops; abandoned cultivation areas
from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; and extensive early twentieth
century plantings of ornamental trees.
The place is associated with the Pilot service that guided ships into Fremantle
Harbour for over fifty years.
The place played an important role in housing internees and prisoners of war during
World War I, in maintaining Australia’s World War II national coastal defence
system and more recently, as a quarantine facility for returned Australians during
the Covid-19 pandemic.
Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island is associated with the
Colonial and State Governors. The original rendered stone wall defining the
Government House Domain surrounding the Government Residence is still extant
reflecting the importance of the site as the seat of Government for the period of
time when Colonial Governors were in residence.
The 1920s conversion of the former summer residence of the Governor of Western
Australia and other buildings in the Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest
Island to tourist accommodation demonstrates the development of Western
Australia’s tourist and recreational resources in the early part of the 20th century.
Demonstrating and reflecting the importance of the coastal location of Wadjemup/
Rottnest Island, Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island is valued for
its role in housing internees and prisoners of war during World War I, its importance
in Australia’s World War II national coastal defence system, as an annex of
Fremantle Prison, as a holiday location and more recently, its use to quarantine
returned Australians during the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island 5
14 June 202111(b) Importance in demonstrating rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of
Western Australia’s heritage
The unique combination of historical overlays has created a unique cultural
landscape at Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island. It is also rare
in demonstrating a distinctive way of life which is of exceptional interest to the
State, through the place’s association with the Aboriginal Prison, and its function
as a major public recreational resort.
Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island contains the only purpose-
built Aboriginal Prison in Australia. The construction and operation of the
Aboriginal Prison demonstrates the attitudes towards and treatment of Aboriginal
prisoners and the administration of prison establishments from colonial settlement
of the Swan River Colony from the 1830s to the 1930s.
The importance and significance of the Wadjemup Aboriginal Burial Ground to
Aboriginal people can be considered fairly unique as a site of memorial significance
for Aboriginal people throughout the state.
Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island is a rare example of a
complex archaeological landscape that encompasses pre-colonial Aboriginal
occupation, and the range of activities undertaken on and around the island after
colonial settlement including the prison era, use by the Department of Defence and
as a holiday destination.
Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island contains a collection of
unusual structures of comparatively early vintage representing some of Western
Australia’s earliest surviving fabric close to the main population centre. These
structures are also rare because of their continuity of use since their construction,
and are rare on a national level as a large collection of rare buildings, concentrated
in a sea wall environment, rather than a harbour environment.
The methods of construction used in the roof systems of former Superintendent’s
Residence (Cottages F & G), Second Superintendent’s Quarters (Manager’s
Residence) and cottages located along the sea wall are rare in Western Australia,
with the use of stone and split timber trusses, commonly referred to as ‘Vincent’s
Trusses’. These methods, constructed under the direction of Vincent, utilised local
materials, and were used at a time when roofs were largely made of rushes or
shingles cut from sheoak.
Being situated on an island, Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island
is unique in the way in which so many very significant cultural elements are
concentrated in a single place. Similar individual attributes are found in many
places, but the combination on Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island is unique.
The functions of the Aboriginal Prison, Boys’ Reformatory School, and Pilot Boat
service, are all represented in the built environment in a legible way, and represent
a series of practices that were either discontinued or are no longer common in this
State.
The Governor’s Residence (Hotel Rottnest) is one of only two purpose built retreats
for a colonial administrator in the Australian colonies, and a rare demonstration of
a particular feature of the British Empire. The use of the former residence is still
evident, and it remains the most impressive building on the Island, with its
crenelated parapets forming a distinctive landmark overlooking Thomson Bay.
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Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island 6
14 June 2021The quokka (Setonix brachyurus) is the most well-known animal on Wadjemup/
Rottnest Island. It is the sole representative of the genus Setonix. There are limited
populations remaining in south-western Australia, with the largest population
located on the island, with interactions common within Thomson Bay Settlement,
Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island. The quokka has become a beloved symbol of tourism
on the island.
11(c) Potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of
Western Australia’s history;
Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island has importance for its
contribution to a wider understanding of natural and cultural history by virtue of its
potential as a teaching site for the study of the natural terrestrial and marine
environment; Aboriginal post-contact period; nineteenth and twentieth century
social history; history of Colonial architecture and building construction; landscape
and horticultural history.
Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island has archaeological potential
to reveal more about: the construction and operation of the Quod and Reformatory;
the Aboriginal prison experience, and the lives, traditions and deaths of the
Aboriginal prisoners now buried in the Aboriginal cemetery; the operation of the
salt works designed by Henri Couderot; the internment of Germans, Austrians and
Dalmatians during World War I; and, the operation of the military defences during
World War II.
Buildings constructed in Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island
under the supervision of Superintendent Vincent provide thermal insulation through
flat limestone roofs supported on timber boards and split jarrah trusses (‘Vincent
Trusses’), a rare form of construction in Western Australia.
11(d) Its importance in demonstrating the characteristics of a broader class of
places;
The evolution of development within Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/
Rottnest Island demonstrates a series of historic, architectural and social changes
and, in many instances, these layers are quite legible in a single place. The
relationships between the buildings, spaces and pathways from the period
Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island operated as a Aboriginal Prison remain extant,
although now utilised for very different functions. Fabric was made to adapt to new
purposes, but left strong messages of, and clues to, previous uses.
Built with prison labour, the Sea Wall, Superintendent’s Residence, Pilot’s
Quarters, Second Superintendent Quarters and Salt Store overlooking the bay,
with Stores, Mill behind and the Quod set back behind a formal square all speak to
the highly regimented and largely self-sufficient life of the colonial island outpost.
The natural environment of Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island is characteristic of other
arid marine island environments off the Western Australian coast, while having
distinctive features which also make it unique. The buildings, planning, planting
designs and social patterns within Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest
Island, while exhibiting features which are a response to the island environment
were also derived from the wider community influence on the mainland and as such
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Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island 7
14 June 2021are representative of their time and place. The containment of accommodation
facilities within defined and historic settlement areas across Wadjemup/ Rottnest
Island, including Thomson Bay Settlement, has allowed long-term environmental
protection of the natural environment in the Settlement area and the island as a
whole.
The development of the place is representative of individual classes of use and
development of its time that were common practice in a much broader context. The
1920s conversion of the Governor’s Residence to tourism accommodation and its
subsequent hotel use from the 1950s, reflects the adaptations made to many grand
residences in response to increased costs of upkeep and the burgeoning Western
Australian tourism industry.
The conversion of the Governor’s Residence (Hotel Rottnest), Boys’ Reformatory,
Quarters buildings and cottages to hotel, hostel and cottage accommodation and
the institution of campgrounds Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest
Island has created a holiday village aesthetic that has considerable importance to
both visitors to the State as well as the people of Western Australia as the centre
of Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island as an icon of Western Australia.
11(e) Any strong or special meaning it may have for any group or community
because of social, cultural or spiritual associations;
Located on Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island, Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/
Rottnest Island has cultural value to the Whadjuk people as an area occupied by
their ancestors prior to its separation of Wadjemup from the mainland.
Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island is important to Aboriginal
communities throughout the State, and to individual Aboriginal people, whose
ancestors were imprisoned and buried there. The Quod and the Wadjemup
Aboriginal Burial Ground hold particular significance for the Aboriginal community.
The majority of the limestone buildings in the Thomson Bay Settlement were
constructed with forced Aboriginal prison labour.
Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island has significance for
Aboriginal people of Western Australia as place of remembrance. Individual
focusses for remembrance include the Quod, Wadjemup Aboriginal Burial Ground,
the former Hospital, Stables, Boat Shed Transit Cell and Vlamingh Lookout.
Thomson Bay Settlement also remains a symbol of social protest, following the
protest on Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island on 10 March 1988. The purpose was to
bring attention to the Aboriginal presence in Australia before 1788 during the
Bicentenary, recognition of the history of Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island as an
Aboriginal prison and, specifically, the commemoration of the Aboriginal burial site
on Wadjemup. Wadjemup is of cultural and spiritual significance to Noongar people
as a place where the spirits of deceased ancestors travelled after death and is
winnaitch (a place that should be avoided).
Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island is significant to large
numbers of Western Australians. The island is one of those places which Western
Australian’s regard as part of the State’s identity, reflecting deep-rooted community
sentiment attached to use and enjoyment of the island as a recreational resource
and its high degree of accessibility across the social spectrum. This includes the
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Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island 8
14 June 2021perception of egalitarian values, island culture, values and lifestyle, often tempered
by experiences through childhood and adolescence and the propensity of these
memories and experiences to become increasingly cherished through time.
Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island has associations with a large
number of people who were noteworthy because of their contribution to the
development of the island and for their standing in the community, including prison
superintendents; members of the controlling authority; governors; architects, island
managers; groups such as the YMCA and Boy Scouts, as well as a number of
active community and volunteer groups such as the Winnit Club, Rottnest
Volunteer Guides, Rottnest Foundation and Rottnest Society.
As the main point of entry onto the island, and with landmark values from the
seaward approach, Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island
contributes significantly to the overall sense of place of the island. The natural
environment within the Settlement, including interaction with the quokka
population, holds an important place in the experience of visitors to Wadjemup/
Rottnest Island. The place is also the centre of commercial activity and tourist
information.
11(f) 1 Its importance in exhibiting particular aesthetic characteristics valued by
any group or community;
Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island is characterised by a
sweeping bay marked by the sea wall and distinctive limestone colonial buildings
creating a defined sense of place valued by both visitors to the State as well as the
people of Western Australia.
As a precinct, Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island possesses
aesthetic qualities of a high order. These qualities are heightened by landscape
features, especially the mature, native and exotic trees. Somerville’s avenues of
trees have been designed to both contrast and complement the natural vegetation
and built form and continue to provide scenic pathways in Thomson Bay
Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island and to the Basin. Many of the individual
buildings, though simple in composition and execution, exhibit qualities that are
aesthetically pleasing; including the stone cottages (Cottages E, F, G, H, J, K1, K2,
Board Cottage, Manager’s Cottage) and the Quod in their respective present forms.
The various landscape features and elements, including the layout of Thomson
Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island; the island character and topography;
the buildings and the planting stock, contribute to the aesthetic quality and
character of the place and together form a unique environment which has
townscape, streetscape and landmark qualities
Though designed without having an overall plan in mind, the bulk of the buildings
operate together as a harmonious whole or in groups. Combined with the natural
1 For consistency, all references to architectural style are taken from Apperly, R., Irving, R., Reynolds, P. A
Pictorial Guide to Identifying Australian Architecture. Styles and Terms from 1788 to the Present, Angus and
Robertson, North Ryde, 1989.
For consistency, all references to garden and landscape types and styles are taken from Ramsay, J. Parks,
Gardens and Special Trees: A Classification and Assessment Method for the Register of the National Estate,
Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra, 1991, with additional reference to Richards, O.
Theoretical Framework for Designed Landscapes in WA, unpublished report, 1997.
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14 June 2021landscape and marine environment, and the introduced plantings, Thomson Bay
Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island possesses high scenic value.
11(g) Any special association it may have with the life or work of a person, group
or organisation of importance in Western Australia’s history;
Aboriginal men and boys, many of whom were significant figures, warriors and
elders of their communities across Western Australia, were incarcerated and died
on Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island. Their removal from their traditional lands caused
catastrophic damage to traditional knowledge and culture across the State, which
has had lasting ramifications for Western Australian Aboriginal people to the
present day.
Parts of Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island have close
association with Henry Vincent, under whose brutal regime many of the places
were constructed. These were created and built with forced Aboriginal prisoner
labour under his direction, or were the execution of designs by others. As
Superintendent of the Rottnest Island Aboriginal Penal Establishment from 1839 to
1849 and again from 1856 to 1867. Vincent is remembered as one of the harshest
gaolers in Australian history.
Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island is associated with Dutch
mariner, Willem de Vlamingh (Waeckende Boey), from whose 1697 expedition the
name ‘Rottenest’, meaning rat’s nest, which is understood to refer to the marsupial
quokkas, originated. The name remains in use today. The journals of De Vlamingh
from this expedition along the coast are among the earliest recorded observations
of the Australian Aboriginal people by Europeans.
A great number of individuals have been associated with the island and the
Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island in an official capacity and
had a significant impact on the development of the place including: architect
Richard Roach Jewell; John Forrest (later Lord) who proposed the commercial
growing of pines in 1883; Superintendent William Temperley who was influential in
developing the cultural life of the prison establishment and the enjoyment of the
island’s scenic features; John Ednie Brown, the first Conservator of the Woods and
Forests Department, who directed the first major amenity plantings in Thomson
Bay Settlement; Colonial Secretary James Connolly (later Sir), who was
responsible for the initial development of the island as a public resort and gave
direction to the early work undertaken prior to World War I; and William Somerville,
who as a member of the Rottnest Island Board, laid the foundations for the
plantings which exist today; as well as Governor Bedford, W. Cowan, W.R.
Bilsborough, Joseph Allen, Tom Sten, William Jackson, John Watson, and Henri
Courderot, as well as Island Managers, James Stark and Des Sullivan.
11(h) Its importance in demonstrating a high degree of creative or technical
achievement;
The extensive nature of the plantings in Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/
Rottnest Island represents a considerable achievement given the extreme
conditions under which any planting on the island takes place. The level of creative
achievement is challenging to assess by observation of the present condition of the
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Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island 10
14 June 2021plantings, because of their age and the fact that the plantings are now incomplete.
The plantings were, however, ambitious for the time in the 1900’s and 1930’s and
displayed a level of creativity that was notable in the local context.
The lack of timber on the island led to the development of a distinctive and unusual
roof structure for many of the colonial buildings in Thomson Bay Settlement,
Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island including the Governor’s Residence. These roofs,
which are still extant on the Superintendent’s and Officers’ Quarters, Mill and Hay
Store, Salt Store, Chapel and Boathouse, used narrowly spaced split beam trusses
(known as ‘Vincent Trusses’) lined with timber boards topped with limestone slabs.
This was then covered with a slurry of lime and sand thus successfully using the
limited resources available on the Island to achieve weather protection for the
limestone buildings.
12. DEGREE OF SIGNIFICANCE
12. 1 CONDITION
Overall, the condition of Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island is
good. The condition of individual elements within the Settlement varies and is
summarised in the Physical Evidence.
Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island comprises a complex archaeological landscape which
encompasses terrestrial and maritime evidence of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal
occupation and activities across the island. It is likely that there are considerable
intact archaeological deposits and low to moderate artefact scatters dating from
colonial settlement to the present across the island and specifically within Thomson
Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island. The significance (or research
potential) of areas of known and potential archaeology, including those which
comprise Aboriginal, non-Aboriginal and both values, has not been assessed.
12. 2 INTEGRITY
This section explains the extent to which the fabric is in its original state.
The majority of the fabric relates to the two main themes of Aboriginal Prison and
the use of the island as a holiday destination.
The buildings and elements from the period Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island operated
as an Aboriginal Prison have been modified to varying degrees to enable
alternative uses for over 100 years. They nevertheless retain varying degrees of
integrity from moderate to high.
Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island has an extremely high degree of integrity as a holiday
destination. Since the early 20th century it has been planned and managed as a
holiday resort, and this is reflected in the architecture and infrastructure. In 2020
the majority of the buildings in Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest
Island continue to be used to support this function.
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14 June 202112. 3 AUTHENTICITY
This section explains the extent to which the original intention is evident, and the
compatibility of current use.
Various modifications have been made to the buildings in Thomson Bay
Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island to accommodate the various uses to which
the island has been put over the years. Nonetheless, the history of the place is
clearly readable in the remaining fabric, which in the majority relate to the two main
themes of Aboriginal Prison and the use of the island as a holiday destination.
The former Aboriginal Prison (the Quod) was closed as tourist accommodation in
2018, which is likely to enhance the authenticity of the building, in relation to the
period Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island operated as an Aboriginal Prison.
Various areas of Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island have an
extremely high degree of authenticity. These include the following:
• The Sea Wall and row of historic buildings along Vincent Way have changed
very little since they were completed in the 1840s. The fact that the row of
buildings along the Sea Wall is still intact and that no infill or demolition has
been carried out since its construction is unique in Australia and makes this
vista highly significant for its authenticity.
• The bottom of Signal Hill past the General Store and on to Lomas Cottage has
changed very little over time, and includes the historic plantings of Moreton Bay
Fig trees and two extremely old olive trees that are a distinctive feature of the
Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island.
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14 June 202113. SUPPORTING EVIDENCE
This document has been compiled by Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage
staff, with amendments and/or additions by the Heritage Council and the
Department.
13. 1 DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that the
following entry refers to the deaths in custody of Aboriginal people.
Known to Whadjuk Noongar traditional owners as Wadjemup, 2 Wadjemup/
Rottnest Island is the largest island on the continental shelf near Perth.
Approximately twenty kilometres from Fremantle, it is dominated by low limestone
hills and sand dunes, with a coastline characterised by alternating sandy bays and
limestone headlands. The limestone and sand were predominantly formed during
the Pleistocene and Holocene periods, when the area was still part of the mainland.
The Noongar name for Wadjemup means ‘place across the water where the spirits
are’ 3. The island was uninhabited when Europeans began arriving in the
seventeenth century. 4 However Wadjemup remained then and now a highly
significant place for Whadjuk and Noongar people, as a resting place of the spirits. 5
Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island separated from the mainland some 6,500 to 10,000
years ago. A small number of stone artefacts have been found on Wadjemup/
Rottnest Island which have been dated to between 13,000 and 18,000 years ago. 6
Recent archaeological research has considered the archaeological record at
Wadjemup in the context of the surrounding Greater Swan region, which included
Wadjemup, Ngooloormayup/Carnac Island and Meeandip/Garden Island prior to
their split from the mainland 7. The research considered the stone and other
artefacts at Wadjemup as well as radio carbon dated pollen sequences, and other
dating techniques, and suggests that Aboriginal Western Australians occupied
Greater Swan region, including the submerged land between Wadjemup,
2 Wadjemup is reported to mean ‘the place across the water where the spirits are’. (TPG for RIA, ‘Rottnest Island
(Wadjemup) Cultural Landscape Management Plan’, May 2015, p.1)
3 Rottnest Island Authority, 2018, Source: https://rottnestisland.com/the-island/about-the-island/our-
history/aboriginal-history, Accessed 2020.
4 TPG, op cit, pp.9-10
5 Rottnest Island Authority, 2018, Source: https://rottnestisland.com/the-island/about-the-island/our-
history/aboriginal-history, Accessed 2020.
6 Green, N., & Moon, S., Far from Home: Aboriginal Prisoners of Rottnest Island 1838-1931 (Nedlands: UWA
Press, 1997), p. 12; see also Pearn, J., & Carter, P., (eds.), Islands of Incarceration (University of Queensland
Press, 1995); Joe Dortch & Charles Dortch, 2019, Late Quaternary Aboriginal huntergatherer occupation of the
Greater Swan Region, south-western Australia, Australian Archaeology, 85:1, 15-29; Dortch, C., ‘Rottnest and
Garden Island Prehistory and the Archaeological Potential of the Adjacent Continental Shelf, Western Australia’,
Australian Archaeology 33, pp. 38-43
7 Dortch and Dortch define Greater Swan Region as a 60-km-long and 40-km-wide, east-West transect from the
Darling Escarpment through the centre of the Perth Metropolitan Region to the coast, and thence seaward to
the deepening contours of the continental shelf edge, ten kilometres west of Rottnest Island. No stone artefacts
have been found on Carnac Island.
Dortch, Charles & Joe Dortch 2012, 'Archaeological evidence for early human presence in the western reaches
of the Greater Swan Region, WA', Fremantle Studies, 7: 51-76; Dortch & Dortch, 2019, op cit. pp 15-29
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Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island 13
14 June 2021Ngooloormayup and Meeandip islands and Perth, for at least 20,000 years. 8
Whadjuk people believe the connection is much longer.
Europeans Arrive
European knowledge of Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island commenced in 1611 with
Dutch navigators in search of a shorter route from the Cape of Good Hope to
Batavia (now Jakarta). Frederick de Houtman made observations of the island in
1619, while the first Europeans to land are believed to have been Samuel
Volkerson and his crew of the Waeckende Boey, searching for survivors of the
Vergulde Draek in 1658. 9 William de Vlamingh, also searching for a missing ship,
landed on the mainland in 1697 and also landed on and explored Wadjemup/
Rottnest Island. 10
The most common story about Wadjemup’s colonial name ascribes it to Willem de
Vlamingh who, on 29 December 1696, mistook quokkas for large rats (‘rattenest’:
‘rat’s nest’). However, de Vlamingh’s log contains no reference to rats, referring
only to ‘mist eiland’ (fog island). The name probably originated from another
member of this expedition. 11
In 1786, while following the Dutch route to the Indies, Duquesne-Guitton Abraham,
leading the French ships L’Oiseau and La Loire, accidentally sighted the Western
Australian coast at latitude 32º and quickly departed. Other Europeans who landed
included members of Nicholas Baudin’s expeditions (1801, 1803), Phillip Parker
King (1822), and Captain James Stirling (1827).
After the establishment by the British of the Swan River Colony in 1829, Europeans
soon settled on Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island, attracted by the prospects of salt
harvesting, farming and fishing. In December 1830, Benjamin Smyth surveyed
Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island for the Surveyor General, John Septimus Roe. A plan
for the township to be known as Kingstown was proposed, containing 177 lots of
one third of an acre and other lots of 10 acres to be offered to the public. These
lots were contained within the area now known as Thomson Bay and extended
around to what became Bickley Bay on the site where Kingstown Barracks 12 now
stands. 13
William Nairne Clarke and Robert Thomson took up town lots and pastureland.
Clarke was granted ten acres in 1831 and later received a grant of 300 acres for
pasturing sheep. Thomson took 100 acres for the purposes of farming and salt
collection. He moved his family from Fremantle to Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island in
1831 and constructed several farm buildings from local limestone. A well and the
footings of a stone building are located at the site of Thomson’s allotment,
approximately 1.3km west of Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/Rottnest Island
8 Further, additional archaeological evidence of Aboriginal occupation of Wadjemup is likely to be present in
areas of former likely occupation. Dortch & Dortch 2019 op cit.
9 First lieutenant Abraham Leeman van Santwigh is thought to have explored the island on 18 March 1658.
10 TPG op cit, p.15
11 Somerville, W., Rottnest Island: Its History and Legends (Perth: Rottnest Board, 1948), p. 31, citing Extract from
the Journals of a Voyage Made to the Unexplored South Land... (Amsterdam, 1701); Joske, P., Jeffrey, C., &
Hoffman, L., Rottnest Island: a Documentary History (Nedlands: Centre for Migration and Development Studies,
UWA, 1995), pp. 10-11, 18
12 P525 Kingstown Barracks (RHP)
13 Ferguson, Rottnest Island, p. 7
Register of Heritage Places
Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island 14
14 June 2021and have traditionally been interpreted as relating to Thomson’s occupation 14.
However, recent refurbishment of the well, as well as archaeological investigations
in the area, suggest the structures may have been constructed after Thomson’s
era, possibly during the military occupation of the island during World War II. 15
Other requests for land continued, such as W. R. Steel’s 1834 appeal for exclusive
rights over all unallocated parts of the island in exchange for landing 400 sheep.
European settlers quickly changed the landscape of Wadjemup. Land was cleared
and tracks made; firewood was gathered, especially for the salt works, and the
island was repeatedly burned. 16 Cereal farming, vegetable gardens and vineyards
were established.
In August 1838, life for the colonists was disrupted when ten Aboriginal prisoners
were brought to the island. Although Clarke was willing to trade his holdings for
similar land on the mainland, Thomson had opposed plans to use the island as a
prison. 17 After a short period when settlers and prisoners coexisted on the Island,
the Colonial Secretary announced in June 1839 that Rottnest Island would become
a penal establishment for Aboriginal people. The Crown resumed all land 18 and
restricted access to the Island, compensating settlers with property on the
mainland. For almost a century the place served as a prison for Aboriginal men
and boys. During its time as a prison, some 3,700 Aboriginal men and boys, from
many parts of the State, were held there.
Aboriginal Prison
Colonial settlement in Western Australia resulted in clashes between the new
arrivals and the Aboriginal population. As the colony expanded, Europeans came
into increasing conflict with traditional owners. European farming impacted
significantly on the ability of Aboriginal people to hunt and gather food in their
traditional ways.
Offences under English law, such as killing livestock or petty theft, resulted in gaol
sentences from six months to many years. Aboriginal people were also
condemned to death or given life imprisonment for intertribal killings or for the
murder of Europeans. 19 As a consequence, increasing numbers of Aboriginal
people were being held in gaols around the Swan River Colony and in rural areas.
It was considered necessary to establish a ‘Native Prison’ and Wadjemup/ Rottnest
Island was thought ideal since it would allow the prisoners to be worked in gangs
without the chains used on the mainland to prevent escape. 20
The incarceration of Aboriginal people on Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island falls into
three phases, as described by historian Neville Green:
The first, 1838–49, might be regarded as a humanitarian period when the intention was
not merely to punish but also to rehabilitate the prisoners into colonial society. The
14 ibid, pp. 7-8
15 Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage, August 2020, Short Report of an investigation of a Prison
Reformatory site on Rottnest Island (Wadjemup); Pers comm, Jane Skippington, RIA December 2020.
16 TPG op cit., p 19
17 ibid
18 Government Gazette, 1 June 1839
19 Winder, K.G., ‘Rottnest Island Aboriginal Prison and the Burial Sites’, prepared for the Minister for Aboriginal
Affairs (1989), p. 1
20 ibid
Register of Heritage Places
Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island 15
14 June 2021second stage, 1855–1902, was a grim period when more than 3,000 prisoners arrived
on the Island. In the final stage, 1902–31, Rottnest Island became an annex of
Fremantle Prison. 21
Fremantle’s ‘Round House’ prison (P0896 Round House and Arthur Head
Reserve) (RHP) was utilised as a lock-up for Aboriginal prisoners on their way to
the penal establishment on Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island. 22 In 1838-39, a house of
two rooms, twelve feet square, was constructed on Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island
under the supervision of the Government Establishment, Constable Lawrence
Welch. Welch reported that the behaviour of the prisoners was satisfactory and
requested more clothing and equipment to prepare for an increased number of
inmates. 23 However, he left the post in August 1839, to be replaced by Henry
Vincent, former gaoler at Fremantle.
While the justification for establishing an Aboriginal prison on Wadjemup was that
prisoners could be ‘gradually trained in the habits of civilized life’, 24 it is noteworthy
that an 1842 proposal to establish an island school was rejected. 25 While some
inmates were imprisoned for serious offences such as murder, many more were
interned for theft of property such as flour, fruit from gardens, and cattle pastured
on their traditional lands. 26 Others were placed on the island because they posed
a challenge to white authority. Eanna and Bokoberry had committed ‘no particular
crime’, but were seen by the Protector of Aborigines, Charles Symmons, as
‘untameable savage[s]; laughing to scorn the white man’s efforts at civilisation’.
Rottnest, he hoped, would ‘teach them outwardly at least, to conform to our social
regulations’. In 1844 Joseph Frazer, an early Christian convert, was sent to
Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island for the ‘offence’ of going walkabout. 27
There was a brief hiatus of six years during which the establishment was
temporarily closed and Aboriginal prisoners were transferred to work in road gangs
in Perth. However the reopening of the prison saw the return of Henry Vincent as
Superintendent between 1856 and 1867 28, heralding the beginning of a particularly
harsh period. Vincent was widely acknowledged as a cruel and violent
superintendent, practising routine brutality towards the prisoners. 29
One of the consequences of incarceration was that Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island was
almost entirely developed by forced Aboriginal labour. Prisoners grew wheat and
fodder, cut wood, tended stock, and constructed buildings and roads. They used
picks to extract stone, salt, and shell that was burnt to produce lime. Over the
prison period, the prisoners constructed a large number of buildings and other
21 Green and Moon 1997:14, cited in TPG op cit., p.21
22 Boylen, G., ‘Taste of prison at the old port city’, West Australian, 4 Jan1991 p. 14
23 CSR vol. 71, 28 January 1839
24 Western Australia Act no. 21, 1841: An Act to Constitute the Island of Rottnest a Legal Prison
25 Green, N., Broken Spears: Aboriginals and Europeans in the Southwest of Australia (Perth: Focus, 1984), p.
151
26 Perth Gazette (1 September 1838); CSO 124/100-105, F. Armstrong to C. Symmons, 6 October 1843; both
cited in Joske, Jeffrey, & Hoffman, Rottnest Island, pp. 28, 39
27 Green, N., ‘Aborigines and White Settlers in the 19th Century’, in Stannage, C.T., (ed.), A New History of
Western Australia (Nedlands: UWA Press, 1981), p. 92; McNair, W., & Rumley, H., Pioneer Aboriginal Mission
(Nedlands: UWA Press, 1981), p. 101
28 Chronological History of Rottnest Island, prepared for Rottnest Island Authority by Considine and Griffiths
Architects and Oline Richards, September 1995, p. 3
29 TPG, op cit., pp.22-23
Register of Heritage Places
Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island 16
14 June 2021structures including the seawall, lighthouses and other heritage buildings. Most of
the development took place within Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest
Island. Almost all the limestone structures in Thomson Bay Settlement were
constructed by Aboriginal detainees, mostly under the supervision of Henry
Vincent, including:
• c.1841 Superintendent’s House, later Government House (Cottages F and
G) 30;
• c.1844 Military Barracks (Cottages E, J and H);
• 1846 Boathouse and Crew’s Quarters (fmr) (Board Cottage);
• 1847 Armstrong’s Cottage; later Pilot’s Quarters (fmr) (now K1 and K2). The
1848–1903 operations of the Pilot Station are discussed in detail below;
• c.1848 (Second) Superintendent’s House (Manager’s Residence);
• c.1855 Cell Block, Cattle Shed & Stables (Shops)
• c.1856 School and Chapel;
• 1855-1857 Mill and Hay Store (Barn (fmr), now Museum);
• 1859-1864 Government House (Governors’ Residence, now Hotel
Rottnest). The development of the Governor’s Residence is discussed in
detail below.
• 1859 Boatshed and Holding Cell, located on beachfront.
• 1863 Catechist (later incorporated into the Boys Reformatory. The 1881–
1901 operations of the Reformatory are discussed in detail below;
• 1864 Quod, also known as the Native Prison. 31
• 1867 Salt Store.
The export of salt was very important to the early colony, as the colonists needed
money in order to purchase essential goods, and agricultural exports were slow to
develop. Superintendent Vincent organised Aboriginal work parties to bag the salt
using picks and shovels, and in 1847 he reported 150 tons were ready for export.
Salt was still being exported into the 1930s based primarily on prison labour. The
majority of the facilities constructed relating to the production of salt on
Wadjemup/Rottnest Island have been demolished, however the Salt Store located
just south of the Main Jetty in Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest
Island is still extant. 32
In 1864, additional prison accommodation for Aboriginal men was constructed after
one of the warders apparently set a fire to flush out an escaped prisoner, which got
30 Where appropriate, the current name for the building or element will be provided in brackets following the use
of the historical name or names.
31 Considine and Griffiths Architects Pty Ltd, 1994, Thomson Bay Settlement, Rottnest Island Conservation Plan,
prepared for Rottnest Island Authority, Vol 1, pp. 9-13; TPG op cit., p.29
32 A Salt Works building with a high chimneystack was built by Aboriginal prisoners in 1869, however by 1898 an
inquiry found it was not viable. Although refining stopped, gathering, grinding, bagging and carting by rail from
the Salt Works using prisoner labour continued. The Salt Works were demolished after World War II, the
stack in 1947 and the buildings in 1959.
Joske, Jeffery & Hoffman, Rottnest Island, p. 131
Register of Heritage Places
Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island 17
14 June 2021out of control and damaged several buildings, including the main prison building.
The new building, known as the Quod 33, comprised an octagonal plan with cells
and warders quarters, deliberately resembling Fremantle Gaol in terms of plan,
form and construction. The use of the term Quod is an old slang for prison and did
not relate to the geometry of the building. 34
The lives of Aboriginal prisoners were harsh. Recaptured escapees received many
lashes and were kept in heavy irons. In 1846, a French priest described Aboriginal
people of all ages being taken to Rottnest in chains: ‘These poor unfortunates...
are sent there for the least fault... [But] their stay... only serves to brutalise them.’ 35
Overcrowded, poorly ventilated cells, inadequate food and warmth, and overseer
brutality led to a death rate of at least 10%. A State Commission noted that the
superintendent had fed vegetables to horses whilst prisoners suffered nutritional
diseases. Vincent was accused of beating and murdering prisoners, but despite
substantial evidence he was never charged. 36 In 1866, an inspection found that
Vincent was ‘suffering the effects of a long arduous service’ and he retired the
following year. 37
After Henry Vincent retired Captain William Dockwery Jackson took over as prison
superintendent. Additional elements constructed by the prisoners during this
period included:
• 1867 Pilot Boat Crew’s Kitchen (Cottage M);
• 1870s additions and alterations to Government House (later Hotel
Rottnest);
• 1870s construction of stone Sea Walls;
• 1871 Coxswain’s Cottage (Cottage L);
• 1871 Lomas Cottage, constructed for expiree convict S.B Lomas on
Colonial Secretary’s request (also known as Buckingham Cottage);
• 1884 Hospital and Laundry (fmr) (Staff Amenities at the Lodge) 38
By this time the prison was overcrowded. Prisoners were brought from all over the
Colony and disease spread easily in the cramped conditions. 39 In 1875 the press
referred to Rottnest as the ‘Black Man’s Grave’. Disease killed many, the worse
incident being the death of 60 prisoners from influenza in the winter of 1883, over
a third of the inmates held at the time. 40 Captain Jackson was dismissed, and
replaced with W.H. Timperley. It appears the existing unmarked Aboriginal Prison
33 After the conversion to holiday accommodation, the Quod, along with the adjacent former Boys Reformatory
building and additional facilities built much later, was also known as the Lodge.
34 Considine and Griffiths Architects op cit., pp. 13-14.
35 L. Fonteinne to Abbot Gueranger, 13 January 1846, in W. Somerville, ‘Papers 1900-54’, Battye Library, MN1
453A
36 W.N. Clark to Aborigines Protection Society, December 1842, attached to Lord Stanley to Governor Hutt 26 July
1843, British Parliamentary Papers v.8 Colonies: Australia no. 11; Watson, ‘Rottnest’, p. 19
37 Considine and Griffiths, op cit., p. 14, 16.
38 Ibid. pp. 14
39 TPG op cit. pp.23-24
40 Watson, E.J., ‘History of Rottnest’ (Perth, 1937), typescript in Battye Library, p. 90; Green & Moon, Far from
Home, p. 62; WA Legislative Council, Votes and Proceedings 1899; N. Green to Subiaco Post (18 January
1998); Thomas, J., ‘Crime and Society’ in Stannage, History, p. 649
Register of Heritage Places
Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island 18
14 June 2021Cemetery which is located northeast of the Quod was extended to the north around
this time. 41
Detainees engineered nine escapes between 1838 and 1916. In 1848 eight men
tunnelled under the prison and fled by boat. In 1849 many prisoners, incarcerated
within sight of the campfires of their kin, escaped to join an important Aboriginal
ceremony on the mainland. 42
In 1883 inmates were forced to observe the hanging of their comrade,
Wangabiddie. 43 He was one of five Aboriginal prisoners who were executed on
the island in the late 19th century, all for murder. 44 As European settlement
expanded north on the mainland in the 1880s, settlers encountered fresh Aboriginal
resistance. Inmates from the Murchison, followed by the Pilbara and finally the
Kimberley came to be incarcerated on Wadjemup. For these men, the unfamiliar
cold and damp conditions on the Island took their toll. 45
Many Aboriginal men were sent to Rottnest on the slightest suspicion: twenty-eight
men found in the vicinity of speared cattle near Carnarvon were exiled without fair
trial. In the face of criticism of such practices, the Legislative Council conceded
that many had been illegally sentenced, but nevertheless passed retrospective
legislation validating convictions. The prison ‘became the final answer for holding
those too wild and rebellious to submit’ and ‘deteriorated into one of the most
heinous prison systems in Australia’. 46 Many Aboriginal people believe that the
treatment of Aboriginal people in this manner, in particular the public executions,
was a deliberate act to traumatise and subjugate the Aboriginal people across the
State. 47
Between 1890 and 1902, Colonel Edward Angelo, and his successor Frederick
Pearse oversaw the Aboriginal Prison, and the following works using Aboriginal
prisoner labour 48:
• c.1890 Leading Hand Pilot’s Quarters (former School House & Quarters,
now Staff Quarters);
• clearance of roads across Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island, including
construction of new road to quarry;
• excavation of shafts and tunnels south of the reform school, thought to have
been undertaken c. 1895. 49
41 Considine and Griffiths, op cit., p. 17.
42 Ross, ‘Rottnest’, p. 13; ‘Timperley’, p. 7; Joske, Jeffery & Hoffman, Rottnest, p. 28; Green, Far from Home pp.
72-78
43 The Herald (Fremantle), 28 April 1883, Source: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/110503053,
Accessed October 2020; Joske, Jeffrey & Hoffman, Rottnest, pp. 75-76; Green, Far from Home, p. 295.
44 The other Aboriginal men were Tampin (hanged 16 July 1879), Guerilla (18 June 1883), Naracorie (3 August
1883) and Calabungamarra (13 June 1888).
45 Randolph, P., Wilson, V., Frampton, C., & Merritt, G., ‘Rottnest Island Aboriginal Prisoners Cemetery:
Delineation of extent using ground penetrating radar’, Archaeology in the North (1993), pp. 394-415
46 Green, ‘Aborigines and Settlers’, pp. 103-05; citing Parliamentary Debates 3 August 1883, pp. 92-93
47 TPG, 2015, op cit., p., 25
48 During this period, the non-Aboriginal boys held in the Boy’s Reformatory also located on Wadjemup/ Rottnest
Island also undertook construction and other labour.
49 Considine and Griffiths, op. cit,. pp. 17-18.
Register of Heritage Places
Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island 19
14 June 2021The Rottnest Aboriginal prison formally closed in 1902, as regional gaols were
being used instead for the detention of Aboriginal prisoners. However a small
number of Aboriginal prisoners remained on the island to undertake agricultural
and other labour associated with the survey of the island for the purposes of its use
as a pleasure resort. In January 1904, a portion of the island came under
management of Fremantle Prison’s Comptroller-General, and Rottnest Island was
declared a penal station as an annex of Fremantle Prison. 50
Closure turned the attention of the public and the Government to Wadjemup/
Rottnest Island’s possibilities as a leisure destination. Prisoners were periodically
sent from Fremantle Prison to work in the salt works and the ‘beautification’ across
the island, as well as the construction of temporary prison facilities near Lake
Baghdad, and the Salt House. 51 During this period the majority of prisoners were
non-Aboriginal and had been transferred from Fremantle Prison for their particular
skills in masonry, carpentry or for other specific purposes. Approximately ten
percent of the prisoners retained on the island were Aboriginal.
In 1919 the Aboriginal prisoners were transferred to the newly constructed set of
buildings beside the salt works, known as the Salt House Prison, while land
clearance, quarrying and the relocation of huts to the proposed Reformatory Prison
site near Herschel Bay continued. In 1920 prisoners were transferred from
Fremantle Gaol, and presumably elsewhere on the island, to the Reformatory
Prison site. 52 However by 1922, the Reformatory Prison closed, the majority of the
prisoners returned to Fremantle Prison and the site was dismantled. By 1923,
Fremantle prisoners worked restricted hours at the island, usually from April to
November to avoid the holiday season. Works focused on accommodation
maintenance, repairs, firewood collection and roadworks. 53 The last prisoner was
returned to Fremantle in November 1931.
The former prison buildings were converted for use as holiday accommodation in
1911. The Quod formed part of the Lodge holiday accommodation, which operated
under a private lease until its 2018 closure. This juxtaposition of use has prompted
claims that converting the former cells of Aboriginal prisoners to tourist
accommodation could be compared to turning Auschwitz into holiday cottages. 54
The Rottnest Island Authority has indicated its intention to convert the buildings
and nearby burial ground (cemetery) to a Reconciliation Centre, under a
consultative process with the Wadjemup Aboriginal Reference Group. 55
Between 1838 and 1931, it is officially reported that 369 Aboriginal prisoners died
on the island. 56 While most deaths were caused by disease (usually influenza and
50 Green, Far from Home, pp. 36
51 Comptroller General’s Report, 1918; cited Ferguson, Rottnest Island, pp. 81-82
52 Ibid.
53 Green, Far from Home, pp. 43
54 Green, Far from Home, pp. 85-86; Limb, Peter, ‘Of Deeds Most Foul and Vile: A Short Comparative History of
Robben & Rottnest Penal Islands’, African Studies Association of Australasia & the Pacific Review 20.1 (June
1998), pp. 15-19; ‘Rottnest Lodge “Like Auschwitz”’, Subiaco Post (3 January 1998).
55 TPG op cit., pp.82, 93; Rottnest Island Authority, 2018, Source: http://ria.wa.gov.au/policy-and-
reports/sustainability/Social-sustainability/Quod [Accessed June 2020.]
56 Department of Aboriginal Affairs, Perth, File No. 88/699, 'Deaths of Aborigines in Custody: List of 'Aboriginal
Men Who Died At Rottnest Island, 1838-1900' compiled by Howard Pedersen
Register of Heritage Places
Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island 20
14 June 2021associated respiratory diseases), at least five prisoners were hanged. 57 K. G.
Winder has noted:
It is likely that there were many more deaths than those so far recorded. Records from
this period are not complete and no proper register of deaths was kept until after 1883.
In addition, seriously ill prisoners were sometimes sent to mainland hospitals and any
subsequent deaths would add to the total number of men who died as a result of being
sent to Rottnest Island. Others who became ill en route to the prison were sometimes
detained by the doctor in Fremantle if he considered them too sick to proceed. The
report of the Guardian of Aboriginals in 1856 also points out that prisoners were
sometimes dying after their release of ‘fatigue and starvation’ in their endeavours to
return to their own districts. 58
Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island continues to be a potent symbol for Aboriginal people
across Western Australia. Controversy erupted over the discovery in the 1960s
and 1970s of skeletons in ‘Tentland’, an area of the Island set aside for campers
but used in the prison period as an Aboriginal burial ground. In 1985, the Aboriginal
Sites Department formally recorded the place as a cemetery and marked its
approximate location. Three years later, in response to demands by Aboriginal
people, a ground penetrating radar survey marked out the cemetery’s boundaries.
Finally, in 1992, the graves were fenced off and signs erected. However, ‘Tentland’
was adjacent to the cemetery and members of the Rottnest Island Deaths Group
believed the graveyard might still extend into the camping area. 59 In August 2007,
the Rottnest Island Authority announced that it would permanently close the
Tentland site because investigations showed it sat partly on top of the Aboriginal
cemetery. 60
The brutal treatment of the estimated 3,000 Aboriginal prisoners, 61 the dead of
whom lie in unmarked graves, 62 has been depicted in creative works in more recent
years, including film, poetry, artwork and song. Aboriginal poet Graeme Dixon
evokes the insensitivity of tourists on ‘Holocaust Island’ who are oblivious of
‘skeletons in their cupboards/of deeds most foul and vile’. 63 Sally Morgan’s
painting, Rottnest, depicts holidaymakers frolicking on top of the graves.
The impact of the incarceration of Aboriginal people from across Western Australia
at Wadjemup cannot be overstated. The place has considerable importance to the
Aboriginal people of Western Australia as the site of exile and often death for
Aboriginal men under Colonial law from 1838 to 1931.
57 Tampin (hanged 16 July 1879), Wangabiddie (1883), Guerilla (18 June 1883), Naracorie (3 August 1883) and
Calabungamarra (13 June 1888).
58 Winder, ‘Aboriginal Prison’, p. 1
59 Kwaymullina, ‘Wadjemup’, pp. 117-18; Wilson, V.C., Frampton, C.I., & Randolph, P., ‘Location of Burial Sites
using Ground-Penetrating Radar Surveys on Rottnest Island, Western Australia’, Technical Program of the
Sixty-fourth Annual Meeting of the Society of Exploration Geophysicists, Los Angeles (1994): pp. 563-65
60 ‘Graveyard forces the closure of Rotto Tentland’, West Australian, 1 August 2007
61 In the Name of the Crow (1988); Island of Chains (1991); Wadjemup: Isle of Spirits (1993)
62 Dodson, P., Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody: Regional Report into Underlying Issues in
Western Australia (Canberra: AGPS, 1991) p. 18; Green, Far from Home, p. 83; Kwaymullina reports ‘beer cans
and rubbish’ in the cemetery and routine vandalism of the protecting fence (‘Wadjemup’, p. 118)
63 Dixon, G., Holocaust Island, St. Lucia: Univ. Qld. Press, 1990, p. 32; cf. Hasluck, N., ‘Rottnest Island’ in Zwicky,
F., (ed.), Quarry (Fremantle Arts Centre Press, 1981)
Register of Heritage Places
Thomson Bay Settlement, Wadjemup/ Rottnest Island 21
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